


Sleepless Nights

by NonboonaryNapstablook



Category: Pocket Monsters: Ruby & Sapphire & Emerald | Pokemon Ruby Sapphire Emerald Versions
Genre: Emotional Hurt, Established Relationship, Hinted Emotional Abuse, Lots of tears, M/M, unhealthy relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-30
Updated: 2015-03-30
Packaged: 2018-03-20 09:12:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3644793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NonboonaryNapstablook/pseuds/NonboonaryNapstablook
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Archie began to realize that since the two of them had started living together, Maxie hadn't been sleeping. He had also slowly started to realize that this wasn't anything close to the perfect relationship he had always wanted for the two of them, but if he tried hard enough, he would be able to fix that, so there was no point in leaving, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sleepless Nights

**Author's Note:**

> ohhh boy. I don't know where this idea came from but it definitely hints at some emotional abuse and it's almost like low-key Stockholm syndrome in a way. So yeah, just warning you there.

A week after they had begun living together, Archie realized Maxie wasn’t sleeping. As the days went on, the circles under his eyes got darker and darker, and although he was worried, Archie decided he wouldn’t ask, knowing fully well Maxie would shout, insisting that he was fine and Archie needed to stop worrying about him because he could take care of himself. There seemed to be a lot of that in their relationship these days, and although Archie knew Maxie couldn’t help it, he didn’t want to be doted on and protected, he couldn’t help but feel a bit bitter that the other was so reclusive. Archie wanted to be able to worry about Maxie and receive kisses and reassurances that he was okay in return, if not confessions that he wasn’t feeling so well and admissions that he needed help. Something; anything, that a real couple would do. Archie stilled, staring uncertainly at Maxie’s freckled back through the darkness of the night. He had been having thoughts like this more and more often lately- but if they weren’t a real couple, then what were they? What was this?

Another week had passed and the darkness underneath Maxie’s eyes had increased tenfold. Archie swore right then that he would find a way to help Maxie, even if that way didn’t involve bringing the problem out into the open. Come morning, Maxie moved to sit up, before being dragged back down by an arm much stronger than his own.

“Let go of me, I need to get up.” He sighed, glaring coldly at Archie.

“Nah. W’re stayin’ in bed this m’rnin’.” Archie slurred, wrapping his arm around Maxie and dragging the slender man against his side. Maxie flinched upon the contact- as usual- and turned his head, glaring at the wall- as usual.

“Unlike you, I’m not the kind of person to simply lay around in bed all day. I have things to do- now let go of me so I can get dressed.”

“But Maaaaxxxxie, we never get to cuddle in bed together!”

“For good reason.” Maxie muttered, and wrapped an arm hesitantly around Archie, knowing fully well if he continued he would be fighting a losing battle. Archie grinned sleepily, placing a lazy kiss on the other’s cheek, and feeling the both the familiar blush of embarrassment rising to Maxie’s face and the familiar unintentional flinch and slight movement of his head away from Archie as he did so. However, for the first time since they had gotten together, everything, every feeling summed up in that small, unconscious movement smacked Archie directly in the face. The slow, tired breathing resonating throughout the room told him that Maxie still wasn’t sleeping, and Archie drew him steadily closer, burying his face into the back of his neck and using everything in his being to try not to cry.

Days would pass where the two of them would sit cuddled together on the couch, talking about anything that came to mind, days would pass where they argued; just like old times, and days would pass where Maxie refused to speak at all. On those days, the circles seemed to be at their darkest. So did the eyes above them.

Eventually, Archie had simply given up on being subtle; there was no reason he should fear Maxie’s response- he had been through worse than a lecture before, and if there was a possibility of him finding out what was wrong with Maxie, he would be willing to go through anything Maxie could throw at him. So as soon as he could, he cornered Maxie, sitting down next to him and making sure he caught his attention over the book he was reading.

“You haven’t been sleeping.” Archie stated, voice shifting into a tone more fitting of a scolding than a simple statement.

“You’ve just noticed this now? I certainly didn’t hold very high expectations to your intelligence, but I figured surely you were brighter than this.” Archie rolled his eyes at the blow to his intelligence, shifting his gaze to the floor.

“I didn’t wanna bring it up-”

“For fear of upsetting me?” Archie’s lack of response told him all he needed to know, and he quickly shut the book in front of him. “You don’t need to worry about that, but I’m fine. It’s normal. I simply can’t sleep around you.”

“That’s not normal at all!” Archie blushed slightly as his voice cracked halfway through the exclamation.

“We’ve been fighting for nearly half of our lives. You may be able to sleep around anything, but as a normal human being, I cannot sleep well around my enemy.”

“So, what you’re sayin’ is… You can’t sleep around me because you don’t trust me…?” Maxie sent him a look which obviously meant to criticize his need to have it clarified, before nodding. “Even though we’re in a relationship?”

“Is that what this is?” The words slipped out of Maxie’s mouth flawlessly, although they had been thought of and practiced beforehand, and Archie felt his heart drop into his stomach as Maxie stood and began to walk out of the room. “It certainly doesn’t feel like it.” For the second time that month, Archie tried to blink back tears as he watched Maxie’s back helplessly. This time, he couldn’t stop the few that slipped out as he realized that Maxie still considered him his enemy.

Their relationship was a mess and more often than not left Archie in tears, but he couldn’t leave. Even if Maxie didn’t want to admit it, he needed Archie, and Archie had no choice to admit that he needed Maxie far more than Maxie needed him. So he trudged through it, ignoring warning signs in his head to turn back because this wasn’t what a relationship was supposed to be, allowing occasional tears to be shed at the realizations that this wasn’t a relationship- that he loved Maxie but Maxie would probably never love him fully in return, but promising himself that he would fix it.

Archie convinced himself that he would fix this mess of a relationship- that one day he and Maxie would love each other unconditionally and one day he would be able to touch Maxie without feeling him jump at the contact. He told himself that one day Maxie would be able to sleep around him without worry, and that’s what kept Archie going. These thoughts alone gave Archie the strength to stay with Maxie, waiting for the day that their relationship would be the picture perfect one he had always wished for.

They both knew that would never happen.

So the sleepless nights continued.

And so did Archie’s tears.

 

 


End file.
